New Federal Rules on Driver Coercion

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently created a new rule about driver coercion.

The rule basically holds the carrier liable for forcing a driver to violate rules. Below is a definition of coercion and some information about reporting a claim of coercion from the FMCSA.

Coercion

Coercion occurs when a motor carrier, shipper, receiver, or transportation intermediary threatens to withhold work from, take employment action against, or punish a driver for refusing to operate in violation of certain provisions of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs) and the Federal Motor Carrier Commercial Regulations (FMCCRs). Coercion may be found to have taken place even if a violation has not occurred. An example of coercion is when a motor carrier terminates a driver for refusing to accept a load that would require the driver to violate the hours of service requirements. The following must have occurred in order for coercion to have existed:

A motor carrier, shipper, receiver, or transportation intermediary request a driver to perform a task that would result in the driver violating certain provisions of the FMCSRs, HMRs, or the FMCCRs;

The driver informs the motor carrier, shipper, receiver, or transportation intermediary of the violation that would occur if the task is performed, such as driving over the hours of service limits or creating unsafe driving conditions; and

The motor carrier shipper, receiver, or transportation intermediary make a threat or take action against the driver’s employment or work opportunities to get the driver to take the load despite the regulatory violation that would occur.

To address the problem of coercion, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) adopted the Prohibiting Coercion of Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers (Coercion Rule). The Coercion Rule explicitly prohibits motor carriers, shippers, receivers and transportation intermediaries from coercing drivers to operate in violation of certain FMCSA regulations, including the drivers’ hours-of-service limits, the commercial driver’s license (CDL) regulations, the associated drug and alcohol testing rules, HMRs, and some of the FMCCRs. The Coercion Rule allows drivers to report incidents of coercion to FMCSA and authorizes FMCSA to issue penalties against motor carriers, shippers, receivers, or transportation intermediaries that have coerced drivers.

Filing a Coercion Complaint with FMCSA

The Coercion Rule takes effect on January 29, 2016, at that time the FMCSA will start accepting coercion complaints from drivers.

Coercion complaints must be filed within 90 days of the alleged coercion action. When filing your complaint, please include as much supporting information as you have, such as:

Text messages or email exchanges between parties showing coercion attempts by a motor carrier, shipper, receiver, or transportation intermediary, as well as your responses; and names of anyone who may witnessed the coercion attempt.

File a Whistleblower Complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Drivers have the right to question the safety practices of their employer without the risk of losing their job or being subject to retaliation for stating a safety concern. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s whistleblower statutes protect drivers from retaliation. Click here to file a whistleblower complaint with OSHA.